Transportation in Port

[TRacanoUK]

We're generally not ones for ship excursions (gasp!) and usually book our own but this is our first time thinking if shore excursions with 2 kids in tow. I know the ports probably won't have law around car seats but I was wondering what other folks do? Ours will be 4 and 2 at the time of the cruise. I've seen suggestions like 'Take a cab to this resort or that beach' but just wondering how parents of small kids get there?

 

 

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[cb at sea]

Lots of places have buses....so no car seat is needed....check on the "Port of Call" boards for each specific place, or read a guidebook...lots of info in there!

[6rugrats]

We're generally not ones for ship excursions (gasp!) and usually book our own but this is our first time thinking if shore excursions with 2 kids in tow. I know the ports probably won't have law around car seats but I was wondering what other folks do? Ours will be 4 and 2 at the time of the cruise. I've seen suggestions like 'Take a cab to this resort or that beach' but just wondering how parents of small kids get there?

 

 

They bring the appropriate child restraint systems. I don't know why the law (and most of the places you will visit do require safety seats) has anything to do with it. Your child's safety (and I am not saying you don't feel this way) is more important than your inconvenience.

 

Take vans or buses if you don't want to bring the seats.

[TRacanoUK]

6rugrats--I don't really appreciate the snarky remark. I never insinuated I would put my convenience over their safety. It was a simple question as to what others do. This is why I hate these boards. :(

 

 

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[dsrdsrdsr]

One thing to watch out for - I've seen it suggested on here that a five mile taxi ride is too big a risk to take, so they walk half a mile along the road to a nearer site. Don't do it. Walking on the roadside is far more dangerous than travelling a similar distance in an unrestrained car.

 

If you need to go a short distance without a child seat, tell the driver he won't get a tip if he goes above 25 mph, but he'll get a big tip if he doesn't.

[LREcruise02]

TRacano I have a 5 and 3 year old who have been on several cruises. We also don't do many ship excursions and tend to go with reputable local companies or take taxis. We just hold our girls on our laps. That being said we always have a large enough group (grandparents) that we are in the bigger taxi vans. I think some local tours do have child seats or boosters if you request them, just ask you never know.

 

What ports are you traveling to?

 

 

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[flhokie]

We did not take a car seat on our cruise. We stayed on the ship in Nassau & in the port area in St Thomas & St Maarten. We had planned to go to town or a beach in St Maarten using the water taxi, but the weather didn't cooperate. If there was somewhere we had wanted to go in the other ports we would have used public transit, an organized shore excursion or a private excursion.

 

I know it's not the same as a cruise, but I never took a car seat when flying with DD. I arranged for one at our destination. The little bit of extra time it took to plan for that was worth not having to lug a seat through an airport

[cbsmama]

We are cruising in May with our 4.5-yr-old DD, and we cruised with her last year when she was 3.5. In general, we try to avoid ground transportation! We did go on one excursion in Nassau, but we took a boat straight from the cruise ship dock, so we didn't need to worry about a car seat.

 

Our itinerary this year is more port intensive, but we picked this itinerary so we could do things very close to the ship. I am just waiting until she is older to do more "off the beaten path" excursions, because I am just not into trying to figure out what the car/van/open-air taxi situation is going to be and whether or not her seat can be used. The cruise-line excursions tend to be a bit more clear about what transportation is like. I have heard many people say that a lot of taxi cabs in the Carribbean/Bahamas don't even have seat belts in the back seat, so even trying to find an vehicle to accommodate the seat would be a challenge. I don't really want to find out the hard way if it is true or not!

 

We are flying from NC to Miami for or cruise. She is over 40lbs, so she is fine in the airline seat with out a child passenger seat (this would be the first time she has ever flown without a seat). However, I'm still on the fence about bringing our combination harness/booster or perhaps our convertible that she still fits in for ground transportation in Miami. I don't really want to have to store the car seat in our stateroom, but I will if I have to. Another option I am exploring is the BubbleBum inflatable backless booster. My DD meets the requirements for it, but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I may order it and try it out and see if I think it is appropriate. That may be an option for your 4-yr-old, but I wouldn't do any cars/taxis unless I had a 5-pt harness for the 2-yr old.

 

I would also not consider using a rental seat at our destination, as it would not be known to me if it had been involved in an accident (rendering it unusable) or if the appropriate seat for my DD's age/size would be supplied.

[6rugrats]

6rugrats--I don't really appreciate the snarky remark. I never insinuated I would put my convenience over their safety. It was a simple question as to what others do. This is why I hate these

 

Well, we all have things we dislike. I find the lack of reading comprehension today sad. Go back and read my post carefully and try not to be so defensive.

Edited March 12, 2014 by 6rugrats

[cruizinawayinva]

A yeah that to pretty much everything cbsmama said. We cruised with our 18 month oldlast cruise. We always bring car seats on the plane and for taxis to hotels and the port. My kids don't ride in cars, trucks, or vans without our own appropriate car seats-not rental seats that I don't know the history of. We didn't take his seat to shore with us. I didn't want to find a taxi with a seatbelt and then spend the whole time off worried if we'd find another one to take us back to the ship. I planned to play it by ear and see if there was a bus I felt comfortable taking him on. There wasn't. We stayed within walking distance of the boat and did things near there. It was good because we could go back for naps easily. We cruise again in a few weeks with an almost 4 year old and a 16 month old and the plan is the same. We put my son's car seat above the closet last time for storage.

 

cbsmama both Target and Walmart now carry the Bubblebum in store. For a 4.5 yead old if you are sitting right next to them I would absolutely use it for this type of travel situation. I'm very car seat conservative too. My 3y8m is still rear facing and will be for a long time. But a Bubblebum is in our future when he meets the requirements for travel when someone is sitting right next to him.

[cbsmama]

cbsmama both Target and Walmart now carry the Bubblebum in store. For a 4.5 yead old if you are sitting right next to them I would absolutely use it for this type of travel situation. I'm very car seat conservative too. My 3y8m is still rear facing and will be for a long time. But a Bubblebum is in our future when he meets the requirements for travel when someone is sitting right next to him.

 

Thanks for that info! I keep second guessing myself on the booster for her, but I think it makes a lot of sense. I'm nervous about not bringing anything at all, and then needing something in a pinch.

 

OP--I hope you find a solution that works for you!

[flhokie]

I just asked for ideas on a air travel website as I'll be flying cross country with DD (3 years old) and am afraid she will be uncomfortable in a car seat for the entire flight (she is almost too tall for a regular seat & we are transitioning to harnessed boosters). I was only considering putting her in it for the flights to avoid checking or renting. She is too tall for CARES so that isn't an option and her harnessed booster isn't FAA certified.

 

Someone suggested the Ride Safer Travel vest for our destination. It looks very interesting. It's a bit pricey, but could easily be used in cars at home too (no need to move booster seat from car or car when going with grandparents, etc).

 

Just thought I'd share as I hadn't seen it before & thought it could be helpful for those who have children who are big enough & don't want to lug car seats.

[6rugrats]

No airline allows booster seats, and the CARES harness is the only FAA approved harness. Your daughter must be tall!

 

The Rider Vest could be a good alternative for the car.

[flhokie]

No airline allows booster seats, and the CARES harness is the only FAA approved harness. Your daughter must be tall!

 

The Rider Vest could be a good alternative for the car.

 

She's 41 inches (as of her 3 year checkup 6 weeks ago) and the height limit for CARES is 40 inches.

 

Her head is very close to the top of the My Ride 65 in my husband's car. We moved to an Evenflo combo seat/harnessed booster in my car which will keep her harnessed until 50 inches and then convert to a true high back (then backless) booster. The manual says it can be used on a plane when it's 5 point harness, but if they truly consider it a booster it wouldn't be allowed. Since it's a new seat I don't want to chance anything and would go with the Graco if I were to take a seat, but I'm leaning more towards the vest.

[Copper_beeches]

My son was 14 months last Feb and we bought a Scenera for $40from walmart to bring with us for the plane, rental car in Florida, and taxis in ports... We didn't have any trouble finding cabs with seat belts in the Bahamas (took 4 cabs on two excursions, first one had them each time) and I don't think I've ever been in a cab that didn't have them... We'll bring it with us again in April for the plane and any cabs in ports, just make sure there's someplace safe to leave it if you're going someplace like a zoo or boat trip. The people at Ardastra we're happy to hold it in their front office for me!

 

 

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